Rising senior: Chances at Oxbridge

Applying to College
1

Hi all, upon recently discussing college options with a friend the idea of attending college abroad came up. A world-class education in the u.k. for a fraction of the cost (in the states) seemed very appealing to both myself and my parents. Currently, I’m a rising senior at a rigorous Catholic high school in PA. I’ve taken primarily honors and AP courses throughout hs (school only lets us take APs beginning junior year), and have earned straight As since freshman year with a weighted GPA of 4.0 (top 10 in a class of 200). I took the old SATs, and received a 2000 (1360 2-part), and will take the ACTs soon. Of the AP tests I’ve taken, I got a 3 on APUSH (not my best) and a 5 on Calc AB (loved it). I will take 4 AP courses next year, including physics and Calc BC. I understand colleges in the UK are much more numbers-driven whereas colleges in the states take a more holistic approach, and I think this could possibly count against me as the strength of my application would be found in the letters of recommendation and extra-curriculars. If anyone has any experience on the topic or knowledge/advice to share, please do.

Thanks, Vince

2

Do you know which subject you want to apply for?

In the UK you will study only one subject and the most important bit is how good you are at your subject. That means only extracurriculars in that subject area are of relevance and your personal statement has to be focused on it. However, I believe that recommendation and essay bear very little weight compared to admission tests and interviews, although that may vary by department. So if you are certain about your subject and want to apply, that’s what you should focus on.

However, if you are still unsure about your interests it’s probably a better choice to stay in the US, especially as applications open in a few weeks and the deadline is October 15. You can find all important information on the websites of the universities (and you can apply to only one of the two).

Good luck with your final year of school! :slight_smile:

3

What 'course ’ (subject) would you apply for?
In the US, you have a year to decide on your major, and that major is 30-40% of your classes. In Great Britain, your course is one subject, you have to decide ahead of time and if you change your minds you start from scratch. It’s 100% of what you studying - 3 classes or anything 9 hours per week your first year, fewer our second and third year. You have show autonomy - what in the Isis called ‘teach yourself’. For instance, you’ll get a list of books and are expected to read and understand them on your own.
As of now, you don’t qualify for Oxbridge, because you’d need 3 AP 's directly related to what you want to study. Since you mentioned calculus and physics I’ll assume you want to go into a stem field - calculus bc and physics count as two, you’d need a third science (ab doesn’t count). You’ll need two more for Cambridge (and it wouldn’t hurt for Oxford). After that you’ll likely have an exam (oral or written), and if you pass all that you may get a conditional offer - IE, your offer will depend on getting 5 in each AP, if you don’t you lose your place.
For science, look into Imperial.
For quantitative social science LSE.
Good universities to consider: Durham, Bristol, Bath, Edinburgh, Glasgow, beside the usual (UCL, King’s), and depending on subjects OR preferences Queen Mary’s Belfast, Plymouth, Brighton…
All in all though it’s very very different from college in the US.
If you’re interested in English language social sciences at lower cost, look into University Colleges in the Netherlands and Science Po Reims.

4

What 'course ’ (subject) would you apply for?
In the US, you have a year to decide on your major, and that major is 30-40% of your classes. In Great Britain, your course is one subject, you have to decide ahead of time and if you change your minds you start from scratch. It’s 100% of what you studying - 3 classes or anything 9 hours per week your first year, fewer our second and third year. You have show autonomy - what in the Isis called ‘teach yourself’. For instance, you’ll get a list of books and are expected to read and understand them on your own.
As of now, you don’t qualify for Oxbridge, because you’d need 3 AP 's directly related to what you want to study. Since you mentioned calculus and physics I’ll assume you want to go into a stem field - calculus bc and physics count as two, you’d need a third science (ab doesn’t count). You’ll need two more for Cambridge (and it wouldn’t hurt for Oxford). After that you’ll likely have an exam (oral or written), and if you pass all that you may get a conditional offer - IE, your offer will depend on getting 5 in each AP, if you don’t you lose your place.
For science, look into Imperial.
For quantitative social science LSE.
Good universities to consider: Durham, Bristol, Bath, Edinburgh, Glasgow, beside the usual (UCL, King’s), and depending on subjects OR preferences Queen Mary’s Belfast, Plymouth, Brighton…
All in all though it’s very very different from college in the US.
If you’re interested in English language social sciences at lower cost, look into University Colleges in the Netherlands and Science Po Reims.

5

I would certainly be looking into an engineering/stem field. My school wouldn’t let me take AP classes prior to junior year, would schools consider that when asking for multiple 5s in major-related AP tests?

6

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t.
However some universities would accept some 700+ scores in chemistry and biology + some other subject tests taken in the fall.

7

*but you can’t double count- so it’s AP OR SAT subject test.

It is typical for students to apply with tests still to take, so you can get an offer “conditional” on your senior year AP/Subject test scores (yes, that means you will have to “insure” or accept another school just in case). And no, they will not make an exception for you on test requirements.

Don’t get too excited about it being “a fraction” of the cost (esp. in STEM fields, which are 4 years). International rates for either Oxford or Cambridge are going to run north of $45K/year, with the only funding being whatever you can get through FAFSA.

Note that you can only apply to Oxford OR Cambridge, and both will have subject specific pre-interview entrance exams, which are critical for getting invited to interview.

8

Are you thinking about a specific course in the STEM field or are you not yet sure about it?

The latter could be problematic as you have only two months to make up your mind. Although not unheard of, it’s rather rare and difficult to change course after entry. At least at Oxford you would most likely have to sit additional admission tests or interviews and do work for both courses over a period of time. So, if you get accepted, the course you applied for is most likely the one you are stuck with.

Now, there are however some exceptions to this. You could apply for natural sciences at Cambridge (you can’t apply for Ph, Ch or Bio). Then you would do those three subjects in your first year and only after that decide in which to pursue your degree. There is also a rather large percentage of people switching from Maths to Physics in second year, the Maths course is quite applied in first year. In general, with the Tripos system at Cambridge switching is much easier than at Oxford, where your decision is pretty much final.

By the way, in STEM the only subject without an admission test at Oxford is Chemistry, so if you are not applying for Chemistry you should have a look at past exams. Phyics and Engineering sit the PAT (Physics Aptitute Test, it consists of two parts, one half Physics and one half Maths). CS and Maths sit the MAT (it has a multiple choice section and four long questions, depending on your subject choice.)

Furthermore, for Cambridge be prepared to take STEP. It’s a hard Maths exam (or rather three exams, I, II, III), for which people prepare for months. It’s taken in June, forms a part of the conditional offer and quite a lot of applicants fail at that final stage of the process. It’s mandatory for Maths, but some colleges also require it for Natural Sciences or Engineering.

Finally, there are sample interview questions online for a variety of subjects, so have a look at those. There are even sample interviews on Youtube.

If you decide to apply, good luck! :slight_smile: